Confocal microscopy articles within Nature Chemistry

Featured

• Article | 21 June 2021

  Metal ion fluxes controlling amphibian fertilization

  Zinc fluxes have now been shown to be essential in the fertilization of amphibian eggs. Furthermore, manganese(ii), which is initially bound to low-molecular-weight carboxylates, is stored and released with zinc from cortical vesicles following fertilization. This rapid metal ion release blocks the otherwise fatal entry of a second sperm.

  • John F. Seeler
  • , Ajay Sharma
  •  & Thomas V. O’Halloran

• Article | 18 September 2011

  Catalytic activity in individual cracking catalyst particles imaged throughout different life stages by selective staining

  Insight into the active zeolitic domains of catalyst particles used in fluid catalytic cracking is limited by the particles' complex nature, but is crucial to improving these billion dollar catalysts. Now, a staining method allows confocal fluorescence microscopy to probe within single catalyst particles, and correlate Brønsted acidity distributions to catalytic activity.

  • Inge L. C. Buurmans
  • , Javier Ruiz-Martínez
  •  & Bert M. Weckhuysen